By Ar. Prashant Sutaria
Estate Square, Ranchi |
Ar. Prashant Sutaria dwells on the role of the architect as an influential instrument of ‘better urban housing in the affordable category’…
"With growing economy and urbanization,
a country like India is facing a major challenge in the form of housing,” says
Ar. Prashant Sutaria. He continues: As of today, there is a shortage of almost
30 million houses and the requirement for affordable housing is predominantly
felt among the economically weaker sections (EWC). This is one segment of
society that very few private sector enterprises wish to build for and consequently
comes under the purview of government or semi government organizations.
Having said this, one
realizes that the challenges faced by these developers are many. What begins
with a complicated and bureaucratic approval process is
also bogged by continually rising land and construction costs, labour and
technology costs… Adding a bleak streak is the shortage of micro financing
companies and the lack of sufficient project finance at affordable costs.
Yet, despite these
challenges the silver lining is that the home finally sells like hot cake!
The role of an architect here is very significant and very challenging. The architect can contribute in following manner:
1) A very efficient and innovative plan can
optimize usable-to-built up area.
2) An innovative architectural planning can
centralize service shafts and maximize common walls to reduce construction
costs.
3) Effective use of natural cross
ventilation along with appropriate measures for solar protection can save
energy bills for the occupants.
4) The finer side of the built environment like
gardens, play areas, social interactive spaces and the overall feel of the project
can have an artistic touch to give it a qualitative look.
5) The architect can contribute in selecting
the right color schemes and materials for creating a central theme for the
project.
Giving human scale to the development |
Common areas play an important role |
If the importance of
architect's role and the need as well as the opportunities that this segment has
to offer is understood by the fraternity, then we all can contribute
significantly towards creating a better urban housing in the affordable
category.
Incidentally, Prashant Sutaria Architects were recently conferred the BERG Awards for Real Estate in the
category ‘Affordable Residential Architecture’ for their Estate Square project
in Ranchi. This project is the product of a vision, which was to design and
arrive at a solution, which can be applied to ‘All Mass Housing Projects’ in ‘Tier
III’ cities across India.
indeed there is a dire need of affordable housing. Even Arihant Capital group with interests in finance, stock broking and education is starting up a great project on affordable housing near Indore. They have planned a school, grocery store, medical store, club house and all good amenities within the township
ReplyDeleteWow, such incredible plans and designs. This is what everyone needs today, a good, comfy, cozy and tranquil home, which is not too expensive to afford. Great project.
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